ADICA approves additional grant funds for downtown businesses

ALBANY — In the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority’s efforts to build a vibrant downtown, new incentives were approved on Tuesday to encourage downtown businesses to add signage or to spruce up their exterior facades.

A facade and signage grant program, which previously offered up to $3,000 per applicant, was increased to $5,000 Tuesday by the ADICA board at its monthly meeting. Downtown businesses can now apply for the funds for exterior building improvements, including signs, lights, painting, windows, door replacement, masonry work and/or cleaning.

According to Downtown Manager Latoya Cutts, there is about $32,000 in ADICA’s budget for these grants.

“These programs and facade improvements are common in most downtown areas,” Cutts said. “What we are asking for is not adding more money to the budget but rather expanding the program in terms of the maximum amount each applicant can apply for.”

Cutts explained that the signage and facade funds are supplied through grants, not loans. Applicants will not have to pay the money back. However, in order to receive the grant, they must conform to certain standards regarding aesthetics.

“It’s all about having a ‘look’ — not haphazard,” said ADICA Board Chairman Jimmy Lindsey.

Board member Phil Cannon volunteered to serve on a committee that will review and approve applications.

Cutts said there is no minimum amount for the grants, meaning applicants can apply for any amount of funding up to the $5,000 maximum.

In response to some board members’ concerns that applicants might not follow through on the improvements stated in their grant applications, Cutts said the funds will be paid to the vendors who do the work, not to the applicants.

“We are not writing checks to the owners,” she said. “In most instances, these business improvements may cost way over the $5,000 maximum we can provide.”

Some board members said they want to see the grant funds available to businesses outside the downtown district. Cutts said she is aware that businesses across the river and down into Radium Springs would like to be included in the grant program, but for now it is limited to the Front Street Marketplace and downtown Albany.

“It’s not just the east side; there are businesses on West Slappey, too. Let’s look at the whole scope,” board member Omar Salaam said,

Another ADICA board member, Alex Rolfe said, “We need to show success first on Front Street. If we dilute that, we will not have success.”

Lindsey said discussing expanding the boundaries for the grant should be held for another day. Cutts added that any boundary expansion would have to be approved by the Downtown Development Authority, not by ADICA.

In other business, the ADICA board discussed two bids from local realty management groups to handle business associated with downtown properties. Bids to handle tasks such as marketing, rent collection and tenant relations came in from two companies: Albany Realty and Webb Properties. After an in-depth discussion, which involved comparing and discussing the pros and cons of the two bids, the board determined it is the DDA that should decide which management company to go with.

“Initially, we thought the DDA could handle those duties, but it really is beyond the scope of what the DDA can do,” Cutts said.

Based on a former inter-agency contractual agreement between DDA and ADICA, the Downtown Development Authority was given the authority to lease downtown properties owned by ADICA. Under that contract, the DDA would collect rent, plus 4 percent of the lease money. The ADICA board decided to increase the percentage DDA would get from each lease to 10 percent and decided to leave the decision to hire an outside company to assist with property management to DDA.